47 U.S.C. § 1001 — Definitions

For this subchapter: (1) Terms defined in 18 U.S.C. 2510 have those meanings. (2) “Call-identifying information” is dialing or signaling information identifying the origin, direction, destination, or end of each communication a subscriber generates or receives through a telecommunications carrier’s equipment, facility, or service. (3) “Commission” means the Federal Communications Commission. (4) “Electronic messaging services” are software services that let senders’ or recipients’ computing devices share data, images, sound, writing, or other information. (5) “Government” means the United States Government and its agencies or instrumentalities; the District of Columbia; United States commonwealths, territories, and possessions; and a State or its legally authorized political subdivision. (6)(A) “Information services” means offering the ability to generate, acquire, store, transform, process, retrieve, use, or make information available through telecommunications. (B) It includes services for retrieving or filing information in storage facilities, electronic publishing, and electronic messaging services. (C) It excludes a telecommunications carrier’s internal network-management, control, or operation capability. (7) “Telecommunications support services” means a product, software, or service a carrier uses for internal signaling or switching in its network. (8)(A) “Telecommunications carrier” means a person or entity that, for hire as a common carrier, transmits or switches wire or electronic communications. (B) It includes a commercial-mobile-service provider as defined in section 332(d), and a provider of wire or electronic switching or transmission service when the Commission finds the service replaces a substantial part of local telephone exchange service and it is in the public interest to treat the provider as a carrier for this subchapter. (C) It excludes persons or entities to the extent they provide information services and any carrier class or category the Commission exempts by rule after consulting the Attorney General.